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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. degree — temperature
  4. snap — to click
  5. net — for catching
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. net — after costs
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. press — to push
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. saw — the tool
  13. content — the amount
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. press — newspapers
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. degree — from a university
  20. content — happy
  21. net — in sport
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. press — a publisher

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com